As Keri Russell's political thriller The Diplomat is about to air its second season, it's the perfect opportunity to revisit her role in the spy drama, The Americans. Russell plays Elizabeth, half of the "All-American" Jennings couple, who are really undercover Russian spies. They're so deep undercover that even their kids don't know that they're really Russian, allowing Elizabeth to explore many moral dilemmas between loyalty to her country versus loyalty to her family.
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Before The Americans, Russell was best known as the titular character in the college drama Felicity, so when the role of Elizabeth Jennings came along, it was quite against type for the actress. As a Russian spy who has as much family drama as she does political, Elizabeth is a guarded, but multi-faceted character. She does not wear her emotions on her sleeve, but it seeps out through both her quiet moments, and in times when she's undercover, hiding behind other personas. Russell's performance as Elizabeth is both mesmerizing and a force to be reckoned with.
'The Americans' Allowed Keri Russell's Career to Evolve After Years of 'Felicity' ✕ Remove Ads
Before The Americans, Keri Russell had quite a clean-cut image from her days on Felicity and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She got a taste of working in the spy genre with a small role in Mission Impossible 3 but was still primarily known as Felicity when FX head John Landgraf thought of her for the role of Elizabeth Jennings. "It's so crazy that John would do that," Russell said to The Hollywood Reporter. "I was kinda like, 'He wants Felicity to be this Cold War, Soviet spy?!'"
She was very much drawn to the idea of playing against type; Elizabeth couldn't be more different than Felicity, as an emotionally cold, determined, ruthless spy. While her husband Philip (Matthew Rhys) wavers more towards leaving Russia behind to become truly American, Elizabeth is more nationalist to her core, as she was groomed by the state to be. She does have her moments of doubt as her feelings for Philip become real. She confronts her violent past, and her children have only known themselves as American, but she remains steadfast in her fight for what she believes to be the greater good.
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Elizabeth Jennings Is Not Only a Russian Spy, but a Caring Wife and Mother Close
In The Americans, Russell's chemistry with Rhys is off the charts, and it's unsurprising to learn that they actually did fall in love during their time on the show. The spark alights in the pilot episode, as Philip and Elizabeth kidnap KGB operative Nikolai Timoshev (David Vadim), who has defected to America. Philip wants to turn him in to the FBI to defect, but Elizabeth wants to follow orders -- and also has a personal vendetta against Timoshev. When Philip discovers Timoshev had abused Elizabeth in her youth, he immediately kills him, taking Elizabeth's side, and reaffirming his commitment to her. Their relationship had mostly been a disguise for the past 15 years, but this moment is the start of their real love story.
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This violent and traumatic storyline immediately establishes Elizabeth -- a woman who was groomed by Russia to become a highly-skilled operative -- as stern and determined, willing to bury her emotions in her fight for her political cause. In this episode, Keri Russell outwardly displays the tough and violent side of Elizabeth, beating Timoshev to a pulp, and demanding an apology for the abuse. Under her resilient exterior, Russell exudes Elizabeth's trauma through her repressed anger and single-focused mission of following Russia's orders. Throughout the series, Russell continues to build layers to Elizabeth, through the quiet and reflective moments she takes when smoking a cigarette, or her outright anger and determination when on a mission or protecting her family.
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As Elizabeth struggles with her children potentially discovering their secret identities, Russell gets to play with a lot of maternal range with an otherwise cold character like Elizabeth. No moments hit emotionally harder in The Americans than when Elizabeth is dealing with the complex situation of having American children. As the series progresses, Russell explores Elizabeth's maternal side more and more, and by the time the show reaches its climax, these emotions have become more outward for her rather than merely internalized.
Keri Russell Plays Characters Within a Character As Elizabeth Jennings' Alter-Egos
Russell adds texture to her performance by layering in Elizabeth's multiple undercover alter-egos beneath some fantastic physical disguises. "I feel like through those disguises and those other covers she got to reveal little parts of herself that Elizabeth wouldn't necessarily choose to reveal," Russell told Vanity Fair. Each character was different from the next, as Elizabeth interchangeably uses her wits, body, or emotions to infiltrate her targets.
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One of her more vulnerable alter-egos is "Jennifer," the sister of "Clark" (Rhys) who she has to support during his marriage to Martha (Alison Wright). Her insecurity cracks through her even demeanor -- she's both jealous over Philip's relationship with Martha, while also actually feeling sorry for her, all the while remaining in character to convince Martha that she's actually Clark's sister. It is multi-layered and subtle, in stark contrast to some of Elizabeth's more violent and extreme scenes, it shows so much range in Russell's performance.
Keri Russell's career went from starring in a beloved college drama to becoming one of the most iconic female spies on television in The Americans.The role of Elizabeth Jennings is so deeply layered under her guarded exterior, and Russell does an enormous amount of work in bringing her to life, all while making it seem effortless. This career-best and life-changing performance will make you ask, "Felicity who?" and there's never been a better time to dive in while waiting for The Diplomat Season 2.
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In the midst of the Cold War, Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings appear to be an average American couple, living out the American dream in their house in the suburbs with their two children, Paige and Henry. In truth, though, Elizabeth and Phillip are Soviet agents, working under deep cover for the KGB.
Release Date January 30, 2013 Cast Keidrich Sellati , Richard Thomas , Holly Taylor , Annet Mahendru , Matthew Rhys , Keri Russell , Noah Emmerich , Maximiliano Hernández Seasons 6 Network FX Streaming Service(s) Hulu , Disney+ Directors Chris Long Showrunner Joseph Weisberg Expand
The Americans is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
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